Alone
by BookObsesserNumberOne
Summary: I am utterly unique in the world. Which also means utterly alone.
1. Prologue

Welcome to my first story! I allow flames, as long as you tell me why you're flaming. Hope you enjoy it.

Alone

I am utterly unique. Which also means utterly alone.

When most people think of taxxons, they think of big slobbering worms, desperate for meat. All are voluntary controllers because they love to eat, and the Yeerks promise them food. Their hunger is so great that Andalites can barely control them, or not at all. That's pretty accurate, but wrong on one account.

I approached the pier. The Yeerk in my head was driving me toward the pool. I lowered my head, all the Yeerks writhing beneath me. Meat for the taking, if my hunger overpowered the Yeerk. I began to feed it, enrage it with hunger. If I broke out now, many Yeerks would be devoured. I would die, of course.

Not so fast, Taxxon slave sneered the Yeerk in my head. He held me back, created Taxxon hibernation. I couldn't get hungry enough to take control. He turned my head and dropped out. Now was my chance!

I raced at the Hork-Bajir, letting go of hibernation. I feed my hunger, making an irresistible urge to eat the Hork-Bajir. I opened my mouth, ready for the kill. The Hork-Bajir calmly raised his Dracon beam. TSSSEEEEEEWWWW!

I fell to the floor of the pier, paralyzed. They calmly picked me up. They walked over to the cages. They then tossed me in with a bunch of humans, who screamed and huddled against the opposite wall.

"Foolish Taxxon! You fight! Always _darkap_!" said one of the two Hork-Bajir. "Why not give up like others?"

People think Taxxons can't talk. They're right. But I did have a little chip in my head that made my thoughts into sounds, courtesy of the Andalites.

" I'll tell you why. Because I want my freedom." I responded icily. They gave me a dissaproving look. Then they marched away.

"You... can.... talk?" Said one of the women. "Yes." I replied. "Are you new?"

She broke into tears. "Yes! This is my first time in the cages! My daughter joined the Sharing weeks ago because she thought she needed more friends. She seemed happier... so I joined too. Now I'm trapped, and I can't get out and I live as a slave, working tirelessly to recruit more slaves against my will!" The tears soaked her face. I resisted the urge to try to drink them, for I would get the taste of her skin. She sat on the floor of the cage.

"Don't worry too much. There is hope." I said, trying to reassure her. "The Andalite bandits are working tirelessly to bring down the Yeerks. The Andalites fight elsewhere. One day, they will win, the Yeerk empire will collapse, and you will be free forever."

She looked up at me. "The Yeerk says that that will never happen. They have infested one Andalite. More will follow. Traitors to the Andalite race are aiding them." The tears had stopped, but she still looked depressed.

"The Yeerk lies. Or his superiors have lied to him. They have infested only one Andalite, by accident. The Andalite race are cautious. The also hold a very high honor. No Andalite will aid them of his own free will." (A/N As far as he knows)

She seemed to have cheered up. She got up and faced me. "Thank you. I will continue to fight and hope."

"Continue. Never give up. Never submit. The Yeerk can torture you. Stand the torture and remember that there is always hope."

She knelt down and hugged me gently. I went into hibernation for her safety. "I will." She smiled at me. " I will never submit." There were tears again, but tears of happiness.

The Hork-Bajir came and got her. She attempted to run out the open door, but they caught her and dragged her to the Yeerk pool. They forced her head under, and she rose, a Controller once more.

"You giving someone else ideas?" Snarled a taxxon in _Galard_ " Just give up, will you? You're such a fool. These are friends. What is freedom for food?"

I snarled back, then I lunged at him, beyond the bars. My head collided and my eye stalks split, but my mouth ripped a gash in his side. The others closed in on him, them devoured him, not a thought for their comrade.

My name is Licentia. The Latin name for Freedom.

I am the only involuntary Taxxon on Earth


	2. One day

So, how'd you like it? By the way () means thought-speak. And to answer Ember Nickel's question, I though he'd have a traslation chip because the Andalites found it hard to decipher his _Galard. _As to why it's necessary that he can speak English, You'll find out in chapter 4.

Alone Chapter 2: Saturdays

I watched him get devoured. I felt remorse. I had let my hunger loose in anger, as much a beast as those who now gobbled at his remains. I retreated to a corner of the cage to think.

I wasn't born a slave. I was born on the Taxxon homeworld, to members of the Hive. I was taught from birth to ignore my hunger, to dominate, to control. I wasn't an eating machine. I wasn't a black hole. I was Licentia, a Taxxon of free birth, a sentient being. I repeated this over and over in my head. Not a black hole. Not an eating machine. Licentia. I was sentient.

I regained control of my body. Another was taken from the cage, leaving me alone. Soon the Yeerk would finish and it would be my turn.

Soon it was time. I was shocked and carried to the pool.

My head went into the sludge. The Yeerk slid in.

(Hello Licentia. More trouble?) He sneered at me.

(You know me, Yeerk.) I hissed with the contempt of an Andalite.

Then I heard something. A Taxxon screeching in the food courts!

My Yeerk raced to the source. A collection of halfbug things were emerging from the Taxxon.

"Andalites!" My Yeerk screamed. The whole Yeerk pool turned around and gave chase to the retreating Andalites.

The Andalites headed for the dropshaft. They were met by a collection of humans, Hork-Bajir, and Taxxons. They morphed battle morphs, a tiger, wolf, gorilla and one remaining in Andalite shape. I was puzzled. Where was the elephant that had fought last time?

Then a new shape appeared from the shadows. Eight feet tall with huge claws and teeth, it was no doubt a grizzly bear. It roared and slashed at its foes. Then it vanished up the dropshaft with its fellow Andalites.

I laughed (Are you liking your chances of promotion now, Yeerk?) I sneered

(I do not fear the pathetic Earth animal known as the grizzly.)

(Yes you do.)

(What does it matter?)

(You didn't fight.)

(I will be promoted. And then I can get rid of you.)

I laughed again. (Why don't you just free me?)

It was his turn to laugh.(Never, Licentia. Never will you be free. For we are masters of the galaxy. You will never succeed. The Andalites are doomed to failure.)

(We'll see about that.)

He laughed. Like resistance was futile. It gave me a split second. I leapt into the Yeerk pool. I swirled around and gobbled all the slugs I could reach. It took him 10 minutes to get control back.

(YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!) He screeched. The master of the galaxy had blown his top. To use the human phrase. I laughed. He heard my thoughts. (Do you really think that?) he taunted.

(Obviously, or I wouldn't be thinking it.)

(You know that you are a lower life form.)

(Sure. Taxxons are number 9 on the ladder. Yeerks are something like 285 thousand.)

He hissed at that. I had ticked him off. Again, the human phrase. I rather liked it. After all ticks and Yeerks were about the same IQ. Boy, did that make him mad.

(YOU ARE NOT ANYTHING! YOU UNDERSTAND THAT! ALL YOU ARE IS A YEERK SLAVE!)

(I won't always be.) That's when I made my resolution. One day, I would be free.

A/N You probably knew it already but this was set during the 7th book. If you reread the 7th book or remember the next major event, you can guess what's coming up. By the way you may not see me for a while, but I'll be updating as soon as possible.


	3. I'm free!

Thanks for the reviews! I want to answer AniJen12's question. I decided to give Licentia a concept name, but I didn't want him to have a name like Justice or Liberty or Life's Precious because it sounds like it should be hanging on a dog's collar. So I turned to Latin. I did wonder whether to make it Licentia or Libertas, but I decided that Licentia sounded and looked more like a people name. And for Ember Nickel, read The Andalite Chronicles. You'll find out why he was in contact with Andalites there.

I hope you're enjoying reading the story, because I'm enjoying writing it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. If I did, Rachel wouldn't have died, Marco would have a girlfriend, and the Andalite fleet would have arrived in #38.

Claimer: I own Licentia and Alone.

Alone Chapter 3: I'm free!

It was a couple days after the Yeerk pool incident. I had been quarantined, and my Yeerk was punished for letting me take control. I was in the cage, and my Yeerk was feeding and healing when the bulletin came. A Hork-Bajir put up a sign on the Yeerk pool wall. Everybody crowded to see it. Once the Yeerk was forced into my ear hole, He wandered over to read the bulletin as well as he could with Taxxon eyes. It said:

**The Andalite Bandits have destroyed the Kandrona. We will be feeding on the ship. Everyday you will look at the board and find your name on the feeding schedule. Proceed on your assigned ship and you will feed, then promptly go back to Earth. A replacement Kandrona is on it's way and will be here in 3 weeks. We will adhere to the schedule for that time. After which the Kandrona has arrived, you will go back to your old feeding schedule.**

Beneath this was a list of names and the ships they would be leaving one. At the bottom it said that for those feeding tomorrow, it would say something else. I looked down the list.

(Your name isn't there Yeerk.)

(Balance, slave. Perhaps I have been assigned to tomorrow's flight to prevent overcrowding.)

(Or perhaps the Visser has decided that you aren't important enough and you can't control your host, so he'll be rid of you.)

He laughed. But I knew his true emotions. He was afraid that I was right. But his fear was replaced by confidence.

(I have already been punished, fool. The visser will not hold a grudge.)

It was my turn to laugh. The visser not holding a grudge? That was like the Yeerk pool not having cages. The visser never forgot any offense, even if it was missing a spot on his floor.

He trembled. He knew I was right.

(You may be very wrong.)

(I may be very right as well.)

********************

The second day, he went up to the wall. We had just been digging out a tunnel on the other side of the yeerk pool. Once more, many important names were there, but he wasn't there.

(I haven't been fed in two days. I can survive a bit longer.)

I decided to be flat out about it. (Yeerk, you are going to die.)

********************

It was the third day. I had been gorging on dirt on the wall of the Yeerk pool. We went out to the list.

My Yeerk's name wasn't there.

That's when things really spun out of control.

(I will live. I will live!)

He powered my body with all its speed at the departing ship. As it was taking off, he clamped my jaws onto the side of the ship.

(I will get Kandrona! Nothing can stop me!)

(You will die, Yeerk.) I said in a plain, emotionless, matter-of-fact voice.

(NO! YOU LIE!)

That's when I realized it. The Kandrona starvation had already started. The Yeerk goes insane for a while. I discovered that I was getting control back. I waited until the ship flew over the mountains, and I let go.

Ow. That's the best word for it. I landed on a bunch of trees, which cushioned the fall, then I fell the rest of the way to the ground.

My Yeerk fell out of the earhole. His gray body disintegrated.

I was in shock for a few minutes. I had just taken a ride on the outside of a spaceship, I had fallen into the trees, then I was suddenly free.

Freedom. It felt good. For the first time in my life I could move, not around the cage, but anywhere I wanted. As long as the Yeerks didn't see me I was fine.

I ran through the forest. I saw a lake up ahead and ran in and swam around. I had been a controller for so long that I had almost forgotten how to swim. Now, my old mental muscles stretched out and worked. I was mentally weak, but I would grow strong soon.

"I'M FREEEEE!" I yelled to the skies.

Then it came. The kiss of death, the sound of a human.

"Who's yelling out there?" A girl, I guessed, but I didn't care. I ran! I ran as fast and as far as I could.

I ran right into the girl.

A/N My first cliffie! I know a lot of you weren't expecting me to free Licentia, but this isn't just going to be the memoirs of a Taxxon you want to find out who the girl is, read the next chapter of Alone, which will be up soon.


	4. Intoducing Luna

Thank you for keeping up with Alone! To answer nomadsland, yes Taxxons are fragile, but they are pliable too. He wouldn't have survived the fall to the ground, but with the trees breaking it, he managed to survive. Also, I never said that he was very high above the treeline. He was only about 10 feet above the treeline when he fell. They were heading to the other facility to pick up some more hosts.

Enjoy!

_Luna's POV_

My name is Luna. My parents named me that because of my moon-face. We lived high in the mountains, but I still went to regular school.

"So Luna,out backpacking again? " Sneered the voice of the worst person in the world, in my opinion. Taylor, snob, tennis champion, queen of the school. I was Luna the weirdo. And I'm fine with that. I'm pretty strong and fast. I'm not an athlete, I'm a huge outdoors and hiking fan and it shows. I have a farmer's tan, lean muscles, tough skin, and light brown hair. I can't tell you the color of my eyes, cause I can't even tell. They look green to me really close, and everyone else says they're a gray-blue. Sometimes they're hazel.

At this point, I was wearing cut-off sweats and a tie-dye t-shirt with a pocket. My shoes were typical sneakers with Velcro straps. So what if my fashion isn't the best. I never cared, and if other people care shame on them.

Taylor was of course wearing J crew . She looked at my brandless, slapped together outfit and clucked her tongue sadly.

"So sad, so sad."

"Sad is right. You are a tennis champion and not even an athlete. I bet you couldn't walk three steps barefoot in grass, or even mountain-climb."

She was about to say something, but the bell rang for 5th period. I ran to P.E. and dressed out. I was rid of Taylor for the day. Good.

I returned home on the bus. After walking home, My mom and her boyfriend grinned at me. "Scoot off, will you dear, Max and I have plans." my mom said in that sweet voice of hers. Probably talking on the couch. I didn't care. Even since the divorce and Mom's dating, Mom hadn't given me two looks a day.

So I went outside. I sat in the grass. Then I heard something rambling through the woods. I got closer to investigate. "I'M FREEEE!" cried a voice.

I yelled. "Who's yelling out there?" Then I heards some strange scuffling noises.

Then this huge, yellow centipede with a big mouth and millions of red eyes slammed into me! I screamed and ran as fast as I could. I could hear it gaining on me, so I scrampbled up a tree. Centipedes could climb, but maybe this one couldn't, since they aren't fast either. It stopped under the tree and I got a better look at it.

It was huge, so huge that you couldn't hug it if you wanted to. Then again you probably wouldn't. It had 4 red jello eyes on stalks and they encircled its mouth. A red tongue was flicking in and out. Then he looked up at me. I stiffened in fear Then it did the most unexpected thing of all.

" Don't worry. I won't hurt you." he said.

" How do I know that?" I mumbled out.

" You don't, sadly. I can't prove myself right away." He did sound a little sad.

" Why are you so sad?"

" I was a slave. Now I am free, but I am scared that you will turn me in and leave me a slave again."

I felt immediate sympathy. "Don't worry. I won't. What is your name?"

" Licentia."

" I'm Luna. Nice to meet you." It wasn't just courtesy. I liked how he spoke.

" Nice to meet you too, if you do not turn me in to the-." But he stopped and seemed to think better of it

" Are you going to be living here?"

"Yes, but you will seldom see me. I plan to stay out of the human eye."

" I want to see you again." I said without thinking.

He looked hard at me. "Really?"

" Really. Tommorrow night then?"

"OK. See you then."

He scrambled away into the forest. What had I done? I had arranged a meeting with what I was sure was an alien, or a mutant thing. He didn't seem to be a danger, but I still felt a little repulsive. The two sides of me were yelling at each other.

I thought about it, and came to a decision. For better of for worse, I was meeting an alien tomorrow.

**A/N So how'd did you like Luna? If you hated her, you better hold back your tongue cause she's going to be a main chracter soon. If you have other opinions of her, then review!**


	5. Talking with Aliens

**Hi people, Alone's back with another chapter. Thanks for your reviews, because I, like any other writer, like to think that my chracters aren't just words on a screen**. **We'll be starting off with Licentia's pov.**

**Enjoy!**

Licentia's Pov

I had agreed to meet with a human. Basically the worst thing I could do. She could very well be a course, a Controller woudn't have screamed and ran from me, she would have stunned me, called Visser Three, and had me carried off. It was a risky chance, but I had decided to take it. After all, what harm could it do? She probably wasn't a controller, just a kid living in the mountains.

I decided to be a little late and get a good look around. I wasn't taking any chances on hidden Hork-Bajir. It was bad enough that I was taking chances on her being a controller.

I arrived and checked every spot around the area big enough for a Hork-Bajir to hide in. Nothing there. If she was a Controller, she would be very foolish to go in alone. Unless she had a Dracon beam. I'd watch for that.

And, as I had expected, she arrived.

Luna's Pov

OK, now I was definitely crazy. I was going into the forest, in the evening, and waiting for an alien to come. I mean, this wasn't just some creepy humanoid thing like on Star Trek. This had no relations to humans. I didn't even know if it was a he or a she. It sounded like a he, but who knows?

I started to climb up a tree. Whatever happened, that thing couldn't climb. Its lobster claws and little feet didn't seem good for tree-climbing.

It walked out of the shadows.

"Hello Luna." it said in a friendly voice.

"Hi Licentia." I said as nicely as I could. Considering the shaking, I didn't know how it took it.

"Um, not to be rude, but what gender are you?" I said as carefully as I could

" Male." He said calmly. He probably didn't know mine either.

"I'm female."

" I don't want to pry, but... why are you living up here?"

" My mom divorced my dad and we moved up here. My dad still lives down in the city, but my mom doesn't want anything to do with him."

" Do you like it up here?"

" I love it. It's so peaceful. When we moved, I missed the city, but now I don't."

" I enjoy it too. It's good for recuperating." I was reminded that he was once a slave.

" Have you been down to the lake yet?"

" Yes, I went swimming there yesterday."

" I go through these mountains a lot. Especially during the summer."

" Does your mom mind? " I decided to just be blunt

" No."

" Why not? "

" She doesn't even give me two looks a day. She's no mother. She's just a recording saying 'Scoot off.' "

" Oh. I am afraid that I can't empathize with you. But I can sympathize your condition." I liked him.

" You'd better get home now."

" Good-bye., Licentia."

" Good-bye, Luna."

As she left, I was watching her so intensely, I didn't notice the flash of green.

A random Yeerk's pov

Well, well. A human girl, sitting in a tree, talking to a Taxxon, no doubt Licentia.

Our target had been found.

**A/N I'm afraid that you'll all be left hanging. At least for a doesn't have the ending you'll anticipate.**


	6. Quick note

**Just a quick note. I won't be updating for a while, but I'll get in as soon as I can. I'm sorry and I'll see what I can do about it, but you're going to be waiting a while  
**


	7. The Yeerks come

**You got lucky and I can update. Thanks to all my reviewers.**

Luna's pov

I was back at school the morning after my conversation with Licentia. Typical schedule, getting teased by Taylor, yadda yadda yadda. Normal stuff.

I jumped on the bus and then walked the mile back to my house. Max and my Mom were there. I expected the usual hello and good-bye, but Max surprised me.

" Let her stay. She's 13 years old. Beside, you wouldn't want her running around in dark by herself." I heard him emphasize "by herself". Did he know my secret?

"I'm going up to my room." I said in my best monotone. I didn't want to raise questions. They probably assumed I had homework.

I flopped into my bed and the floor creaked. When we bought this house, I think the owners gave it cheap because they didn't want it to crash into pieces. We fixed it up the best we could. I even added a zipline since the balcony outside was useless. The supports were gone. So I put a zipline so I could zip across it and across the forest to a tree that I could climb. The only tree that was high enough to be majestic and give you a view of everywhere over the mountains that I could get to. I think I'd go on it after homework was done.

I could hear my mom and her boyfriend talking. I just starting working on my homework.

Licentia's pov

I was hovering around her house. I wondered if I should send a signal or something. Why hadn't we put a time to the next meeting? Oh well, I'd look around the house and... assume that the mother and boyfriend didn't notice the overgrown yellow millepede in their yard. That wasn't an option. Then what was, climbing the house? I can't climb. There was always the....

That's when I heard them. Most think that Taxxons have poor hearing. We do. But we can feel vibrations and whatever was coming was giving off a lot of vibrations. Plus the clouds of dust. A big truck. I ran for the forest. I saw i pull in the driveway. Then something big, something numerous, something resembling a cross between a dinousaur and swiss army knife jumped out of the truck,

A band of Hork-Bajir was running for Luna's house!

No time. I screamed. "Luna run!!" Stupid! Where would she run?

That's when she answered my question and threw open some doors. She was in the room with the balcony! I had to hold them off any way I could. I screamed and leapt toward them. Taxxon verses twenty Hork-Bajir is no match, but I had distracted them. But they just divided up, one half chasing me, the other following the call of "She's in the upper floors! Seize her mother!"

Max. Max was a Controller. I heard the mother screaming as she was seized. The hork-bajir were going up the stairs. But then I heard some breaking wood. Their claws and weight had been too much for the stairs. She had maybe 3 minutes. I had to get rid of the Hork-Bajir on my tail!

I ran toward a river and plowed through. I swam underwater. Hork-Bajir couldn't see well or swim, so I could get out on the other side, somewhere downstream, and they wouldn't know the difference. So I did that. I had bought myself only a little time before they figured it out. Enough to return to the house.

By now, the Hork-Bajir were upstairs. They were searching. Then I heard the screams that announced that she had been found. She threw open the balcony doors and ran out, her arms up from the looks of it. Three Hork-Bajir were chasing her. They would undoubtably catch her!

Then the balcony crumbled beneath them. The Hork-Bajir fell, but Luna stayed up. How?

Then it hit me. She was on a zipline. It was the only explanation. I ran after her, barely being able to track her. She began to slow, then stop on a tree branch. She pushed the thing back, then cut the line. Covering her tracks. She climbed sown and saw me. She almost went into shock. Then she regained herself.

"Licentia?"

"Yes."

" I saw you, charging those things. What are they?"

"They are called Hork-Bajir. "

" Did they enslave you?"

"No..."

" What happened to Max?"

" It's kind of hard to explain..."

" When can we got back?"

I sighed. "Never."

" Why?"

" It's a kind of long story..."

" What happened to my mother?"

" It's not easy to believe.."

That's when she finally broke.

" You know what, you are just giving me useless stuff. I want to know what happened back ther and I want to know now, no matter how hard it is to believe. Just tell me!"

I sighed. " Luna, there's something I need to tell you."


End file.
